Feds Offer $2.5 Million To Hire Officers, Deputies City, County Will Scramble To Pay Their Share

Federal taxpayers will spend nearly $2.5 million to help Spokane city and county hire 33 new cops and cover half their pay and benefits for three years.

After that, Spokane area residents will be solely responsible for keeping those officers on the job at an estimated cost of more than $1.5 million per year.

The federal money is part of a plan President Clinton announced two years ago to put 100,000 new police on the streets.

The city is slated to receive $1.5 million for 20 new police. Spokane County will get about $1 million for 13 more deputies.

Mayor Jack Geraghty said Thursday the money is welcome but acknowledged that city government would have to scramble to pay its share.

The federal money can be used only for new hires.

“It may mean some other things have to take a cut,” Geraghty said. “We’re just going to have to suck it up. (Public safety) is our top priority, and we’ll deal with it accordingly.”

The mayor offered no specifics, saying it was too early in the process to tell from where the money would come.

Sheriff John Goldman said Thursday he needs the new deputies. Crime in the unincorporated areas jumped nearly 11 percent between 1994 and 1995.

The 13 new deputies would push his force of commissioned officers to his goal of 200, the sheriff said.

But Goldman said he recognizes that hiring the new deputies will have long-term financial impacts.

“The question becomes, where do we come up with the match for these federal dollars,” said Goldman, who met with county commissioners to discuss that.

Police Chief Terry Mangan said the new cops will fit into his plan to increase the number of police on the beat in Spokane.

The current city budget authorizes 286 officers, or 1.5 cops per 1,000 residents, Mangan said.

His goal is to increase that ratio to 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents.

With current population projections, that means hiring about 35 new officers over the next three years, Mangan said.

Mangan said he hopes to bring the 20 new officers on line in groups of six or seven over the next three years.

Geraghty said city government is committed to helping Mangan achieve his goal and the federal money helps.

“We’d have to do it anyway,” the mayor said. “This way we get more bang for the buck.”

Two years ago, the city got nearly $2 million and put 26 more cops on the streets. The sheriff’s department received $300,000 and hired four new deputies.

, DataTimes